More Articles

The Dispatch E-Edition

All current subscribers have full access to Digital D, which includes the E-Edition and
unlimited premium content on Dispatch.com, BuckeyeXtra.com, BlueJacketsXtra.com and
DispatchPolitics.com.
Subscribe
today!

By Chris MichaudReuters • Tuesday December 18, 2012 5:27 AM

NEW YORK — More than a quarter of U.S. workers say their workplaces will shut down during the
holidays and, even if the work doesn’t halt, employees are likely to take time off, according to a
nationwide survey released yesterday.

The Working the Holiday poll, commissioned by the Workforce Institute, a research group
established by the management-solution company Kronos Inc., found that far more employees plan to
take Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve off than in a similar study conducted in 2007.

Joyce Maroney, director of the Workforce Institute, said that as many employers cut jobs and
merit-pay increases, employees might be feeling more encouraged to use their paid time off.

Organizations also might be looking to reward their staff with an extended vacation for
weathering the economic storms of the past few years.

This year, 38 percent of workers plan to take Christmas Eve off, according to the survey of
2,691 adults, while 28 percent will take off the following Monday, which is New Year’s Eve.

In 2007, the last time that the “eves” fell on a Monday, 14 percent planned to take off
Christmas Eve while 16 percent planned to take New Year’s Eve off.

“Once we evaluated the cost-benefit picture, it was an easy decision to close our offices for
the week,” said Ruth Bramson, chief executive of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. She is a
member of the Workforce Institute’s board of advisers.

“Employees really appreciate having the time off to spend with loved ones. It is particularly
helpful for folks who travel to visit families,” Bramson said.

Maroney agreed. “For many people, this period is less busy at work, and so the ‘catch up’
consequences of taking time off are lighter,” she said. “People want to be home when kids are home
from school or college, or they’re looking forward to spending time with extended family and
friends.”

Another motivation to take time off is that some workers face a “use it or lose it” situation
with their annual leave.

In recent years, Maroney said, numerous indicators have shown a decrease in what she called “
employee engagement” with their workplace.